San Diego Best Attractions

Coronado is beautiful! It feels like you are in a small beach town. There is a main drag that has little shops, restaurants, and bars. It has some of my favorite beaches.

The “island” is the perfect place to swim, sail, surf, bike, run, walk, rollerblade, play tennis, play golf, take a tour, take in a play or visit the museum.

I love taking the ferry across from downtown. In the summer on Sundays they have a jazz band playing at the dock. You can also just drive across the bridge, which gives you spectacular views of the downtown skyline.

It is also home of the Hotel Del, which is a very old and famous hotel. They have afternoon tea there and it is also a splendid place to grab a drink and watch the sunset. The hotel is full of history and is even said to be haunted!

The Carlsbad Flower Fields or “The Flower Fields® at Carlsbad Ranch” is an amazing place with almost 50 acres of colorful flowers blooming. The view from the top of the hill with the colors of the flowers and the ocean in the background is breathtaking.

They are in a full bloom for approximately six to eight weeks each year – from early March through early May. I would recommend you call and make sure the flowers are all in bloom before you go, if possible.

You can walk around on your own or there are group tours available for an additional fee. You can take a wagon tour around the gardens so you don’t get too tired.

Features:

Nursery

Gift Shop

Miniature Rose Garden- Award winning miniature roses.

Carlsbad Mining Company – you can mine for gems in sand.

Sweet Pea Maze – walk through a living maze of fragrant and colorful “old fashion” sweet pea blossoms.

Historic Poinsettia Display – 1,500 square foot greenhouse filled with the world famous Ecke poinsettias. Enjoy hundreds of exciting poinsettias in over twenty rare and unusual varieties.

American Flag of Flowers – Red, white and blue anemone flowers strategically planted on a 300 by 170 foot hillside pay tribute to the United States.

Santa’s Playground- home to the whimsical play houses and gigantic mushrooms that were part of Santa’s Village in Lake Arrowhead years ago. Come see the “Guard Shack’, ‘Doll House’, ‘Crooked Treehouse’ and huge colorful mushrooms that so many of us remember from our very own childhood!

For more information, hours, directions, and prices click the link… http://www.theflowerfields.com/

Cabrillo National Monument has amazing views of San Diego’s harbor and skyline, as well as Coronado and Naval Air Station North Island. On clear days, a wide expanse of the Pacific Ocean, Tijuana and Mexico’s Coronado Islands are also visible.

The Visitor Center is a good place to start your exploration of the park. There are exhibits, films, and ranger-guided programs which tell you the history of Cabrillo.

A short walk leads to the Old Point Loma Lighthouse. This picturesque structure is restored to its 1880s appearance and presents life as it was for the lightkeepers and their families.

In the adjacent Assistant Keeper’s Quarters, interactive exhibits tell the story of the Lighthouses of Point Loma and, in a nearby historic military building, the exhibit “They Stood the Watch” presents the history of Fort Rosecrans.

A self-guided two-mile walk through a coastal sage scrub forest begins near the Lighthouse. This trail offers views of the harbor and city of San Diego and is particularly pleasant during the spring when wildflowers bloom. It’s also a quiet place to reflect and relax.

A little south of the Lighthouse is the Whale Overlook. This vantage point offers pleasant views of the Pacific Ocean and the New Point Loma Lighthouse. In the winter, migrating gray whales can be seen off the coast.

On the west side of the park is a small but beautiful stretch of rocky-intertidal coastline, where tide pools are accessible at low tide. It is also a wonderful place to bird watch year round, with as many as 200 bird species being seen in the area. You have to drive to get there.

There is an annual Cabrillo Festival Open House held each fall on Sunday.

For more information, park hours, and park fees click the link… http://www.nps.gov/cabr/index.htm

Birch Aquarium is located in beautiful La Jolla and is part of UCSD. You can spend part of the day at the aquarium and then finish the day at the beach and exploring downtown La Jolla.

There are seven main exhibit halls:

- Hall of Fishes, featuring more than 60 tanks of Pacific fishes and invertebrates from the cold waters of the Pacific Northwest to the tropical waters of Mexico and the Caribbean. The largest habitat is a 70,000-gallon kelp tank forest. The tank can be viewed live online through the Kelp Cam.

- Shark Reef, a 13,000-gallon tank with shark species that inhabit tropical reef habitats, including whitetip and blacktip reef sharks, brownbanded bamboo sharks, Port Jackson sharks, and wobbegongs. Interpretive panels on shark biology and conservation accompany the reef.

- Tide Pool Plaza, featuring three living tide pools where visitors can touch and learn about tide-pool animals with docents. Windows in the habitats provide up-close views of starfish, hermit crabs, sea cucumbers, lobsters, and other animals local to San Diego’s tide pools. The tide pool overlooks La Jolla and the Pacific Ocean.

- Coral Reef, featuring live coral and reef inhabitants such as lionfish, chambered nautilus, and giant clams. The gallery has interactive displays on the latest Scripps research on coral reefs around the world. The staff creates live corals for aquarium displays without harming natural coral reefs.

- The Art of Deception showcases marine creatures that use camouflage for survival, including frogs, fish and leafy sea dragons.

- Wonders of Water allows visitors to learn about erosion, water flow, and ocean currents by creating rapids, canals, dams and islands at interactive water stations.

- Feeling the Heat: The Climate Challenge presents the science of global warming and highlights Scripps Institution of Oceanography’s half-century of research on climate change.[9] Through interactive activities, the exhibit shows visitors current environmental changes and those projected for the future. It also presents the latest ideas for reducing carbon emissions. In Fall 2007, the exhibit was named the Silver winner in museum design for the 2007 Event Design Awards. Sponsored by Connecticut-based Event Design Magazine, the annual awards recognize the best designs worldwide across events, exhibits and environments.

For more information, ticket prices, and admission fees click on the link… http://aquarium.ucsd.edu/

This is THE San Diego travel insider’s guide to the best things to do on your San Diego vacation, San Diego events, and tourist attractions!

- Do you know where to find the best views of the city?

- Did you know there’s a nude beach?

- That San Diego has 5 major theme parks?

- Do you know which of the almost 100 San Diego neighborhoods to stay in to suit your lifestyle and which ones to stay away from?

- Do you know how to maximize your San Diego sightseeing?

- Do you know the best or most famous San Diego events?

These are just some of the things you’ll discover while visiting this site. I am a San Diego native and an expert at all there is to do in this city. So please feel free to contact me with questions and browse around the site to learn about my beautiful city.